


100 Ways the Freelancers Don't Tear Each Other Apart

by QueSeraAwesome



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, People actually talking to each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-21
Updated: 2014-05-30
Packaged: 2018-01-20 07:19:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1501589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueSeraAwesome/pseuds/QueSeraAwesome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are over million choices that have brought you to where you are today. Here are a few of those choices, some of the things the Freelancers do differently, 100 ways the freelancers don’t tear each other apart.<br/>Or, alternatively, 100 ways to use your words.*</p><p>*I don't think I'm actually going to get to 100, but you get the point.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Use Your Words, You Idiots

1.

“Please, let’s just go. It’s me they’re after,” CT begs.

He looks at her, down at the armored hand gripping his shoulder pauldron.

“Okay,” he says. “I don’t like this. But let’s go.”

Connecticut escapes, a ghost in the wind. Within a month, the UNSC comes calling. When Project Freelancer falls apart, only the Director and the Counselor go down with it.

 

2.

“Go, this is a family matter,” North says.

Tex nods and takes off and South growls in rage.

“Theta, log off,” North says.

“Are you sure?” Theta asks. “You might need my help.”

“I’m hoping it won’t come to that,” North says.

“Take another step and I’ll shoot,” South says, furious behind the trigger. “Don’t think I fucking won’t, even without your precious baby AI protecting you.”

“South,” North starts, taking a step forward. She raises her gun threateningly.

“Put up your shield, North,” she says. “Maybe if I bring you in, take down Tex, they’ll give me my own AI.”

“You don’t want an AI, South,”

“Don’t tell me what I want!” South screams.

“You wanna end up like Wash? Like Carolina? Don’t tell me you don’t feel it, there’s something wrong here. This place is gonna chew us up and spit us out if we don’t get out. South, Tex isn’t our enemy. Let’s just get out of here.”

“Not before I get what’s due me!”

“You want them to use you too? Because the way things are going, one of us is due for something bad to happen. Somebody’s going to die, or get turned into a vegetable for their stupid games. I don’t want it to be you.”

“Oh, please,” South scoffs. “You haven’t been on my team in ages, North.”

North stops inching forward. South’s eyes are bright, her bangs failing to obscure the hurt and anger in them.

“I never left your team, kiddo.”

South growls at him. She’s holding the gun more like a shield than a weapon now, like it’ll protect her from him, and when did they get so fucked up?

“They’re playing us against each other,” North says. “Let’s not let them. There’s only two sides in this, same as there’s always been. You and me, vs everybody else.”

He’s standing right in front of her now, two sniper rifles slung across his back. The barrel of her gun is barely an inch away from his armor. If she shoots him now, he won’t have time to bring the shield up, not with Theta offline.

“South, please.”

South’s arm falls slack to her side.

“Why do you always get to be the one that’s right?” she asks, voice choked with emotion. He wraps his arms around her. “When do I get to be the one that wins?”

“So let’s win,” he says. “Let’s tear this place apart and walk away.”

“We'll show ‘em,” she says, breaking out of his grasp, “What happens when you fuck with Dakotas.”

 

3.

“You can’t win, Carolina,” Tex says, “But you can come with me.”

“Why would I ever do that?” Carolina snarls, but Tex isn’t looking at her anymore.She’s looking at the ground racing up to meet the Mother of Invention. She lunges.

She hits Carolina around the waist. She has just enough time to wrap a leg around the support strut of the banister, anchoring them to the ship as they crash and the Mother of Invention shrieks all around them.

“Hold on!” she screams. “Hold on to me! Just hold on!”

 

4.

“What happened? Where am I?” Wash asks, waking up.

“There you are,” North says, helping him sit up. “Slowly, slowly.”

“Where is it?” Wash asks. “What happened to Epsilon?”

North and South exchange glances, North’s concerned, South’s angry.

“I don’t even know why I’m here,” South says, heading for the door. “You deal with him. I’ll be back to yell at him later.”

She stomps out the door, and North breaths out a tired breath. He won’t quite meet Wash’s eyes.

“What happened to Epsilon?” Wash asks.

“They pulled him, Wash. They say you—he tried to…what do you remember?” North asks.

Wash _flinches_.

“I remember everything,” he says. “Everything.”

“Jesus, Wash,” North says.

“No—“ Wash interjects, gripping North’s shirt. “You don’t get it. I remember—I remember everything. North, you remember the Alpha? You remember Theta talking about the Alpha?”

“Wash, calm down,” North soothes, trying to get Wash to lay back down.

“No! No. You said Theta was scared. Anxious. North—I know why he’s scared. I know why they’re all scared.”

Theta shimmers into existence above North’s shoulder wringing his hands.

“North,” he says, “North, we should listen to him.”

“Theta, log off, you’re upsetting him. Wash, calm down. You just had two surgeries, you just woke up—“

“No, I don’t want to log off! This is important, I have to hear—“

“Theta—“

“I know what happened to you,” Wash says, eyes reflecting pink and purple. “Oh god, I’m so sorry, I know what happened. North, _I know where the Alpha is_.”

“Wash, don’t—“

“ _Where is he?_ ”

“Everybody calm down,” North’s voice is strained under the tension.

“They’re hurting him,” Wash says, eyes wide and distant. “They’re torturing him. They broke every law. Every law there is about ethical treatment of AI. North, we gotta get out of here. We gotta get as many people together as we can and run. They tore him apart, tore his mind apart and we’re next.”

“Theta, is this true?” North asks. “What’s he’s saying about the Alpha?”

“I think so,” Thea says in a small voice. His avatar shows him curled up, arms tight around his knees. “I don’t really remember. They separated us. We’re not supposed to be separate.”

North looks from his AI to Wash. He remembers York asking him about good guys and bad guys, and where they stood. He remembers the ominous “or something” that no one ever seemed to want to talk about. He thinks about the undercurrent of fear, the buzz of anxiety in the back of Theta’s code, humming along his own neural pathways.

“Okay, Wash,” North says. He puts his hand around Wash’s clenched in his shirt, helps him stand. “Okay.” 

 

5.

“You can trust me,” York says.

“Maybe,” Carolina replies. “But you can’t trust me.”

For a second, he thinks she’s going to shoot him right there. But the second passes and he’s still held at gunpoint, she hasn’t so much as twitched with intent.

“What?” he asks.

“You don’t trust me,” she says. “Why should I go with you? I woke up and you were gone. Gone with her. No explanation, no note, nothing. And now you just expect me to go along with whatever stupid plan you’ve got going on? To desert everything we’ve been working for? To go on the run? Maybe I can trust you, York. But you tell me why I should trust you.”

She’s right. York lowers his hands to his sides. He is utterly defenseless.If she hits him, shoots him now, he’s got no time to block, no time to dodge.

“Okay,” he says. “How long do I get to convince you?”

“You’ve got sixty seconds,” she says.

 


	2. Chapter 2

6.

“She went rogue,” South says. “Broke out of the facility in order to save her precious A.I. Little later we found Wyoming. Apparently she tried to steal his A.I. unit. Tried to get his equipment, too.

“That hasn’t been proven. It doesn’t sound like her,” North says.

“How would you know?” South snaps.

“She’s had enough trouble with Omega,” North replies. “He’s a bad egg. Why in the hell would she want another? I mean, look what happened to Carolina. You can call Tex a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them. No way she’d wants two AIs. No, they’re covering something up.”

“And what makes you say that?” South asks.

“Please. They’re not known for making the most rational decisions. They let Carolina have two AIs. They keep you at the bottom of the leaderboard, when you’re a better agent than Wyoming, easy. Either they’re stupid, or they’re up to something. Can’t you feel it?” North asks.

South stares at him, her eyes wide and shocky.

“You don’t think I’m the worst fighter now that CT’s gone?”

“What? No!” North says. “They’re playing games with us. All of us. Who knows what else they’re up to.”

South blows out a frustrated breath, never taking her eyes on her brother. North doesn’t have a name for the look on her face, but it reminds him of the time they’d been separated for six months, seeing each other finally on the dock again.

“You know,” Wash says, squinting in pain and clutching his head, “I think you might be right.”

“Great,” South says, “So if it’s not Tex, then there’s another homicidal maniac around trying to steal AI. This is bullshit.”

She shoves him and stands. She heads for the door.

“Where are you going?” North calls after her.

“I’m gonna find the cockfuck who’s going after AI’s. And I’m going to rip their lungs out. Through their ass.”

“Wait,” Washington says. “Don’t leave yet.”

South pivots on her heel and turns back around to face them, arms crossed over her chest. Her posture is defiant, but maybe not towards them anymore, North thinks. South’s angry, yeah, but she’s not mad at them for once. Wash looks around nervously, but North and South are the only ones there.

“I need to tell you guys something. About my implantation.”

This is, of course, when the alarms go off.

“Better make it fast,” North says.

 

7.

York comes to with his lighter hovering in front of him. That hurts more than the kick she gave him. It glints in the shitty florescent lights of the ship, and he catches it, tucks it away for safe keeping.

“How’re we looking, D?” he asks.

“You have been unconscious for twenty seconds,” Delta says. “Agent Carolina has bruised your third, fourth and fifth left ribs, and came very close to cracking them. I have administered pain medication, and have activated the healing unit. She exited the elevator shaft at level ten, after kicking us to the top of the shaft.”

York closes his eyes, takes a moment to let his failure burn through him. Part of him just wants to give up. Clear out. The ship is going down, and he can disappear, like he never knew her, like she never chose her demons instead of him.

_No,_ he thinks. It’s not over yet. He’s stupid, so _stupid_. He didn’t tell her, she doesn’t _know_. She doesn’t know what the program has done. He just has to tell her, to show her.

He can still fix it. He can still get it right.

Tex will be heading for the bridge, for the Alpha. Carolina will be heading for Tex. He pushes off from the wall, ribs aching and process and heads for the bridge.

He’s almost there when the ship crashes. He grabs on to the door jam and holds on for dear life, D calculating frantically in the background. When he gets to the bridge, the first thing he sees is the shattered view screen. Tex’s body is motionless, bent over one of the terminals, probably looking for Alpha. She wasn’t actually very clear on how she was going to rescue him. A flash of aqua catches his eyes and he sees Carolina’s sprawled form thrown from the crash.

“Carolina!” he yells, sprinting forward and out through the shattered view screen.

She moans feebly and twitches, trying to get up.

“Don’t move, you might be hurt, hold on—D? D, can you scan her? Is she—“

“Agent Carolina is suffering from a severe concussion and shock,” Delta says in his ear. “She is also suffering from multiple contusions. She will most likely survive.”

“Most _likely?_ —“

“York!” Tex screams, “York, behind you!”

York turns and Maine is advancing toward them. There are holographic flames rippling off his helmet and that walk isn’t Maine’s for all that it’s him, and York knows.

He knows who attacked Wyoming and tried to steal Gamma.

Carolina tries to scrabble to her feet behind him, flailing wildly. York sizes up their position, the distance to the cliff, the aggression in Maine’s walk as he approaches. This isn’t good. He’s good at hand to hand, but not Maine good, and Carolina’s in no shape to help him out. It’s up to him now. He sees Tex’s black form jump from the ship, sprinting towards them.

He’s just got to hold Maine off for a minute maybe. He might be able to do a minute. He has to.

 

8.

Florida is keeping a close eye on Agent Maine. Florida follows orders.

There’s a reason he’s not on the board, and it’s not the reason the other Freelancers think it is. It’s because Florida isn’t just another chess piece. He’s a pawn who’s been let in on what the game actually is.

The Director and the Counselor have always known what Sigma is. There was a reason they let him go to Maine. Sigma’s avatar is appropriately formed, because Sigma is fire. Ambition. Creativity. Sigma burns things and only leaves more of itself in its wake. And it’s not like there was much to Maine besides brute strength anyway.

Florida knows he is to observe and report only. No matter what Maine does. His orders are absolute.

Agent Maine isn’t supposed to attack Agent Wyoming. Florida was betting on Agent York, actually, or Agent South. Neither have been on the best terms with Maine in the past. He never expected him to go after Reggie.

Maine’s got him by the throat, pressed to the lockers so hard they squeal against the wall. Gamma is screaming, Wyoming is turning purple, white-armored hands scrabbling against larger white-armored hands. His other hand is reaching for the back of Wyoming’s neck, going for his AI port.

It isn’t a choice, really. Florida severs Maine’s spine with his knife. Not even Maine can survive that. His body crumples, hits the floor like a Warthog falling on its side.

“Knock knock,” he says.

Wyoming’s on his knees, his hands are still on his throat, choking and wheezing for breath.

“Who’s there,” Gamma’s monotone voice asks.

“Orange.”

Wyoming stumbles to his feet, steadying himself against the lockers. Florida wipes his knife with a corner of his thigh guards.

“…Orange who?” Wyoming manages to ask.

“Orange you glad I didn’t stick to orders?”

 

9.

“Hey,” Tex says, walking over to stand in front of Maine. He’s been sitting there, helmet off, clutching his head since she came in to the locker room fifteen minutes ago. “Sigma giving you trouble?”

He glares at her between his fingers.

“Don’t give me that tough-guy bullshit. Is. Sigma. Giving. You. Trouble.”

Maine flips her off, barely taking his hand off his head to do so, before pointedly going back to glaring at the floor. Tex sighs, an angry burst of breath. She sits down beside him on the bench.

“Omega gave me hell when I first got him,” she says, eventually. “I didn’t even notice at first. He’s like... a spike in the back of my head, like a lightning rod of anger. I was angry all the time. I thought I just hated all you guys,” she laughs. “Then I pulled him.”

Maine eyes her warily.

“They’re not gonna pull Eta and Iota out of Carolina,” Tex says. “They’re gonna let her go crazy. And Wash’s next. They don’t give a fuck what happens as long as they can write it down on a clipboard after. You know bureaucrat types. They don’t give a fuck about anything but results. I’m not gonna be their weapon.”

Tex looks up at him.

“You don’t have to be either.”

Tex gets up and walks out of the locker room. Sigma flickers on, over Maine’s shoulder.

“I do not think we should trust her,” he says. “She has been violent and unpredictable in the pa—“

Maine reaches up and pulls the chip out of the back of his neck before Sigma can finish his sentence.

After a moment, Maine follows her out.

 

10.

“What do you know about the name Alison?” CT asks, dropping into step with Carolina in the hallway.

“Where’d you hear that name?” Carolina demands, stiffening almost imperceptivity.

CT nods to herself, as if congratulating herself for finding the right answer.

“The Director.”

Carolina doesn’t think so much as slam CT into the bulkhead

“You’re making that up,” Carolina snarls into her face. “He never talks about her. Ever.”

After she died, it was like he never wanted to admit she was ever there. Like it hurt to much to talk about. He’d even fired people from his staff named Alison, stopped watching TV shows and reading books when there was character with her name. Her dad only ever had one Alison in his life, wouldn’t allow room for anyone else after she died.

“I heard him,” CT says. “He was talking to Agent Texas.”

“What?”

The betrayal is like a knife wound, like taking the wrong end of one of CT’s knives in a supposedly friendly sparring match.

“Why would he call her that?”

CT shakes her off, pulls her dog tags from around her neck. Carolina looks down at the tags, the glint of computer chips hidden between metal covers. She never would have noticed unless she were holding them in her hand, like she is now.

“Because that’s her name,” CT says.

“What are you trying to say, Agent Connecticut?” Carolina asks.

“I’m saying, maybe you should do some reading.”


End file.
